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Slavia 630 & 631 breakbarrel spring rifles

Slavia 631 is a deluxe version of the 630 breakbarrel spring rifle. Selling for $115 to $135 when last offered, it was a very good deal.

I’m back in the office after attending to some family business. Thanks for being patient. Today, I want to talk about a neat spring-air rifle that is still being made but perhaps not imported to the U.S. at the present time. I’m talking about the Slavia 630/631, by Cheska Zbrojovka (CZ).

No longer imported to the U.S.I mentioned in Spring Break that my first spring air rifle was a Slavia, but that it came with no instructions and wasn’t much fun as a result. Had I known how to treat a spring-piston air rifle with leather piston seals, I actually would have owned a pretty nice air rifle with an accurate barrel.

CZ has the reputation of making some of the world’s finest-quality sporting barrels. Firearms shooters see CZ rifles appearing in both rimfire and centerfire calibers, and users of autoloading pistols have known about fine CZ pistols for many years. But the Slavia air rifles have languished quietly in the background, until the plug was recently pulled on U.S. importation. Having said that, I just know I’ll be directed to an obscure website where someone is still bringing in the CZ 630 and 631 (if they are, it’s a very close secret!).

Not magnums!One reason for their lower popularity is probably due to the power they develop. These are not magnum air rifles by any standard. They shoot .177 pellets in the 600 f.p.s. region and offer superior accuracy at a very nice price. Imagine that you could buy a Beeman R7 for half the price. Interested? Of course, the price has risen over the years, due to the dollar slipping against the euro, but that’s true of everything European.

630/631 Lux – same gunJust as the Diana RWS 48 and Diana RWS 52 are identical rifles in different stocks, so it is with the Slavias. The metal remains the same, and the stock assumes nicer proportions in the 631 Lux model. Power, accuracy and functioning remain the same. I bought the 631 for the nicer stock, but I would have been just as happy with the performance of the 630.

Pushing forward on the spring-loaded latch under the barrel releases the locking detent for cocking.

Barrel lockBefore the barrel can be broken to cock the rifle, a spring-loaded barrel lock located under the barrel must be pushed forward to unlock the action. This is a vintage feature that used to be more popular back in the 1950s and ’60s. Today’s shooters don’t want any extra steps in the cocking process. Heck, most of them want semiautomatic loading, which may account for some of this rifle’s low sales! Veteran spring gunners, however, know what a great value the Slavias were, and they either tolerate the barrel lock or celebrate it, as I do.

Automatic safety pops out like this when the rifle is cocked. Push in to release.

Automatic safety!The safety is one modern feature that was put on the gun to assuage American liability concerns. When the barrel is cocked, the rear safety button automatically pops out. I don’t care for automatic safeties, but this one works well and is as unobtrusive as possible.

Steel rear sight adjusts in both directions. Elevation is read through an open hole in the top of the sight.

SightsThe all-steel rear sight is adjustable both ways. Elevation has a click detent with reference numbers but windage is without clicks, though there is an engraved scale for left-right reference. The front post is protected by a hood, and it appears sharp when seen in the rear notch. The rifle has parallel dovetail grooves for mounting a scope, plus there are transverse grooves that serve as scope stops. As far as I know, only B-Square makes the correct scope rings to fit this rifle. You might have to call the factory to get them because the dovetails are spaced wider than normal.

Accuracy potentialI have tested my rifle with a scope, though that is not the way I prefer it. Groups at 25 yards hover around the 0.25″ to 0.35″ size for five shots off a bench. But this isn’t a bench rifle! It’s a sporting rifle that’s made to be shot in the offhand position using open sights. It’s a plinker that can also take very small game and pests at close range. Use the same pellets that work on all other air rifles – which for me means starting with the JSB Exact.

Will they ever return?That is a tough question. While there may be a small contingent of 100 shooters who might buy the Slavia spring rifles, that’s hardly enough demand to justify importing them. If the demand were for 100 rifles A YEAR, then things might be different. But most airgunners today either want f.p.s., which these guns don’t have, or they want the lowest possible price, which they also don’t have. Slavia springers have always been mid-level spring guns for a good price. Sort of like the Checker Marathon automobile that was wonderful on its own merits, but most buyers who wanted similar features wanted an Oldsmobile 98!

I bought mine new a few years ago because I feared it might not be around much longer. If you want one, I’m afraid you’ll have to haunt the airgun classified websites.

I have a stupid question. Are match rifles (ie Daisy 853) only accurate if you use wad cutter match pellets? What if you use crosman premier 7.9g? Would it be as accurate as wad cutter? Thanks for tolerating stupid questions.

The main advantage of wad cutters is that scoring is far easier on paper targets. I put some JSB Exact Heavy pellets in my SAM M10 while testing some wad cutters — the gun made a smaller pattern with these than with any of the wad cutters. This is not to say that the wad cutters were inaccurate — just that they were making sleightly enlarged single holes while the domed pellet was making a single hole.

If you want to shoot at more than 10 meters, then the domed pellets start performing vastly better. I found that wad cutters were tumbling and making very strange holes at 30 yards. The BC of domes is so much better that even a heavier domed pellet will perform better than a lighter wad cutter at this distance.

But I thought 10m match rifles are usually under powered (5fp or so). So if you use domed pellets (usually heavier than wad cutter), they will not stablize as good as wad cutter and causes inaccuracy. Is that true? If so, how fast do pellets need to be going in order to stablize enough to be accurate? Thanks.

Now,I plan on buying a walther cp88{thanks to your review}I would like the compensator model because of its performance but like the one without the compensator in looks.I would like to know if I can get both by buying the comp model and taking it off.What would you suggest doing?

The Crosman Premier should be accurate at close range with Avanti rifles. Remember that Avantis come in single-strokes with low power, CO2 with moderate power and PCPs (now no longer offered) with moderate power and less temperature sensitivity. The answer really depends more on WHICH Avanti rifle you select.

Your rifle shoots in the mid to high 400 f.p.s. All pellets will stabilize to 10 meters, but the farther you shoot the more the heavier ones will wobble. Experiment with them and find the limits. That’s the only real way to know.

I have BB/pellet Rifle and on the barrel by the rear sight there are several words the first Slavia 618 and under that made in Czechoslovakia and on the bottom of the wood stock there is a number R72196 with an E or F at the end… Im trying to get some information on this rifle.. year it was made… how many were made? and some type of value if any ? any help would be appreciated.. Thank You Jim

I just bought a CZ slavia 631 for $159.99 Canadian. (home hardware) I am impressed with the acuracy and quality of manufacture. I was looking into a beemann but did not like the stamped steel parts. Instead I bought a cheaper CZ with machined high quality parts.

hello, i’v just found a slavia 630 it was beat up bad didn’t pay a thing for it made a new seal did some carving on the stock and refinished the stock and metal it looks great and firers very nice. im in the process of adapting a scope as the front sight has been lost. i also like the action on the trigger very smooth, and the safty is in the best possible position.the 20 and 3/4 inch barrel is also a nice touch think i’ll be using beeman hollow point coated pellets.

But the Slavia air rifles have languished quietly in the background, until the plug was recently pulled ……….. Having said that, I just know I’ll be directed to an obscure website where someone is still bringing in the CZ 630 and 631

Hi,I own a 631 lux myself (they're pretty easy to come by where I come from), but I'm new to this, so I've got a newbie question. I heard that when you put a scope on a 631, the lenses will evetually get broken after a couple dozens of shots, supposedly because of vibrations that the rifle produces when shot. Is it really possible? If so, what can be done to prevent this?

A really cheap airgun or firearm scope might break, but these days most reputable scope makers are bracing their scopes for spring-piston airguns. So if you buy a good brand like BSA, Leapers, Centerpoint, AirForce, Walther, Bushnell, Tasco, Swift or other recognized brand, you are probably okay. But you'll get in trouble with some cheap scopes.

My father gave me a 630 for christmas about ten years ago, and I've maybe shot it about 500 times. I've never really thought about maintenance until I recently got back into plinking. After seeing some of the posts on general maintenance, I was thinking I should do something for the age of this gun. It's never been cleaned (although you can't tell, it still shoots dead straight and the barrel looks clean)and I have some crosman pelgun oil. I was thinking of placing a drop or two down the piston side of the breach, but I've heard that this gun can either come in a leather or a synthetic seal. I'm fairly certain it's the synthetic version, however I don't want to take it apart without having the proper lubricant to clean it and put it back together. Is the pelgun oil safe to use on either seal, and if so, how much should I use? P.S.- I lost the link to your maintenance guide on all types on airguns… where was it again?

Hi, Master I have a question, it´s posibble in this moment buy a seal for this rifle CZ 631. Because I have it but dont shot strong, it´s simply to open and see the seal damage. Thank you if you know the link.

Your Slavia appears to be a break barrel spring pistol. You would pull the barrel down in an arc 'break the barrel' to both cock the gun and present the breech side of the barrel for loading your pellet. Calibers are usually stamped on the side of the gun somewhere. The Slavia is Russian so it would be expressed in mm.

did not study too much on this yet, but I have read that rifles do come wth MoA guarantee capabilities, sounds kinda vague tbhyou said the rifle groups at 25 yards around the 0.25" to 0.35" size for five shots off a bench, with scope

exactly how much accuracy can I expect from this rifle at 10m, to ISFF standards? is it comparable to ISFF shooting rifles 10m or at least close? does it allow consistent 1 MoA at 10m if the shooter is skilled enough?

Mike,Z-zavodni (competition)V-vzduchova (air)P-pistolMade in 60's, I have one 54835, not far from your serial number.This is .177 or 4.5mm caliber, alot of recoil but very nice plinker for juniors.I'm from Slovakia, formal Czechoslovakia, owen 630 model since I was 12, used 250 to 500 Diabolo pellets EVERY weekend. Used to take it apart ones a year to stretch the spring and replace piston seal. Almost every one household of my town had one Slavia air rifle. Used to compete in middle school with Haenel 312. Now I own 631 Lux here in states for $85 (worth every penny).

welcome to our blog. Unfortunately, you've posted to a blog that was written 5 years ago and very few of us monitor these. Why don't you re-post to the current blog which you can find at http://www.pyramydair.com/blog

Many, many folks would love to hear about your experiences with your pistol while you were growing up in Slovakia/Czechoslovakia.

To Slinging Lead: I dont want to bother you with details,but Slavia aint Russian, its Czech, which its a bit difference. Im from the city of Brno, where the WWII Bren /BRno-ENfield/ gun was developed. We were occupied by the Russians from 1968 to 1989, so we are really pissed when someone calls everything on east from Vienna as "russian". We hate them. This is a czech gun, and as small our nation is, its heritage including this toy should be recogized as such. To the point – these airguns are here used for children to play, shoot cans and play "airsoft" with it,) as my cousins did. So its a pleasure to hear that you, on the other side of the great ocean, have such good opinion about a chldren toy. Greetings from the heart of Europe guys!!!

Coincidentally I had just inquired about restoring my 1960's Slavia 518. This was a youth sized .177 spring/break that cost a whole $12 back then. It had all of the quality features of today's counterparts including great accuracy and enough power to take out squirrels. Pyramydair replied that they did not have parts. The breach seal o-ring was easy enough to match up at a local hardware store. I've never tried to lube the leather piston seal, and hope it is not too far gone to restore some power. Obviously I'm new to the maintenance aspect, but not much maintenance is needed while it's in the attic for 45 years!